Shakti’s Blog

Yesterday I went to one of the giant electronic stores, in the mall, to buy a headset for my cellphone. When I told the sweet geek salesman, that I am looking for a special headphone that will stop the microwaves from penetrating my brain, he laughed with a good heart and said “what difference will it make anyway?” “Right now”, he said, “we are both getting hit by endless waves from all the people using cellphones around us. On top of it, wireless from all the buildings around, cut through us”… Then he continued “the whole city is wired, the whole world is wired. Either you make it or you don’t make it” he said while smiling.

I fully understood where he’s coming from. He is already accepting the price that we are paying for communicating within seconds with the other side of the globe. He already gave up on the possibility of spinning the wheel back to what now are faraway fading memories, of a healthier-slower environment to live in. For the youngsters there are not even memories about the reality before the Hi-Tech as they are born into a wired reality. Many of us, as “Greenpeace” as we may be, if honest, are in great doubt that we can ever go back and live our lives without being “connected.”

We are immersed in an environment that is not really suitable for human beings and there is no way out. If we remove the artificial shield we created with our genius innovative minds, we won’t survive, as we do not know how to live any more in the old natural environment we came from. If we do not remove the artificial shield we may not survive either, as we created an environment that consumes our planet, and inevitably, our physical bodies.

I left the store and walked in the rain, thinking about the surreal science-fiction world we live in. A young pregnant woman that was walking on the street caught my attention. She was about 35 years old. She was beautiful, sweet and proud to show her pregnancy. She was glowing from love to her unborn baby. I was watching her, thinking, “what a huge responsibility it is for a parent, these days, to bring a child to this harsh environment we created on planet earth.”

As a loving, potential parent, you may want to some time contemplate on some of the below listed concerns, BEFORE conceiving your child and bringing another human being into the new physical world we created with the power of our evolutionary desire for comfort.

We are bringing a child to an environment where the sun, that all livings on earth depend on, is becoming harmful. It means our children probably won’t be able to play naked in the sun like we did…

We are bringing a child to an environment where food is saturated with poison and chemicals, on top of being genetically modified. Our food is what often generates endless conditions as skin disease, allergies and cancer.

We are bringing a child to an environment where water, the essence of life, is becoming a hazard. Water is either polluted, acidic or packed in harmful plastic containers.

We are bringing a child to an environment with poor quality air that turns a rare condition such as Asthma to be an epidemic disease. In England, every fifth child has Asthma. The reason for it is a combination of pollution, food chemicals, overuse of medications, and stress.

We are bringing a child to an environment that is so fast and so stressful for the human nervous system that many human beings are losing their ability sleep. Insomnia, which used to be an old age symptom, is spreading throughout the whole of humanity as a result of fried nervous systems that are permanently stuck in a “fight or flight” mode.

We are bringing a child to an environment that overstimulates and aggravates a nervous system that was never designed to process the amount of information we perceive in one single day. Fried nervous systems turn people to be anxious and fearful. Panic attacks in all their forms and variations are not anymore a struggle of the few; it strikes all ages from young kids to elderly. No income level nor education or social status can protect people from having panic attacks or feeling overwhelmed by reality. It strikes humans all over the globe.

We are bringing a child to an environment that it is so demanding that is pushing people into endless forms of nervous breakdowns or shuts them down into depression as a defence mechanism.

We are bringing a child to an environment whose viruses and bacteria are getting stronger and more harmful to the human body as a result of the overuse of antibiotics and other non-holistic medications. Wherever you turn your head somebody is fighting a cold flu or stomach flu or head flu…

We are bringing a child to an overpopulated environment. The resources to support humans and all other beings on earth are decreasing rapidly.

We are bringing a child to an environment that we ourselves may be struggling with… some more than others but everyone to a certain extent.

Some of the arguments of having children are:

No matter what, the race must continue!

Having children has nothing to do with reasoning! You just DO it!

I would like my genes to continue …

I have so much love to give…

Having a child is such a joy that all challenges shrink in comparison to the experience of being a parent…

Having a child will take me out of my selfishness…

A child will be the fruit of our love

Having a child will bring me closer to experiencing unconditional love…

The future will get better soon…

MY child will be strong and healthy, calm, relaxed and spiritual so she won’t be part of the above negative outlook of reality…

The world needs more children that are coming from spiritually evolved people like us!

I have no choice, I am in a relationship and that is what I am expected to do.

It will kill my parents if I don’t bring them grandchildren…

I do not want to get older and be lonely…

Who will take care of me when I am old if I do not have children?

If your argument for bringing a child to our present reality is one of the above list or a variation of it, I would be curious to find out what reasons can be greater than the wellbeing of a child?

For the children that have already arrived to the physical world we should be fully committed to support, protect, nourish and love. For the sake of our children that are already here we should be optimistic and proactive about the future.

But for the sake of the children that are not yet in the flesh, for them we may need to be more realistic than optimistic, as there are enough statistics that show that our planet is not anymore an altogether friendly environment. Even when we take the responsibility for our planetary situation, it does not change the fact that humanity is already suffering endless conditions, symptoms and diseases. Being strong, healthy, and physically-mentally balanced, is not the “normal” state of being any more.

Maybe as a collective, we should wait a moment, BEFORE we turn our strong thoughts , feelings, desires, wishes and dreams to have a baby, and ask ourselves: “are our reasons to bring new children to the physical world stronger than the children’s health and wellbeing?”

Another question is: As spiritual people, can we allow our evolutionary drives and instincts to duplicate ourselves, to overwrite our awareness, clarity, and mindfulness?

You are the master. No one can tell you what to do. The concerns above are for the purpose of expanding one’s awareness about our motives when it comes to having children while our environment is turning to be a trap. If after contemplating on the above concerns you still have what feels to you great reasons to have children, then you will be acting with the full power of awareness.

These are gallbladder stones that came out from the anus, with no pain as a result of a leaver cleanse

When the liver is cleaner, the blood is cleaner. The cells are nourished with blood, which has more space to bring nutrients and oxygen to every part of your body. As a result, we are slowing down the aging process and increasing health and vitality.

Necessary for:

Anyone who is taking or has taken medication at any point in their life.

Anyone who is not eating healthy during the year. (Particularly non-organic foods)

Anyone that consumes or consumed alcohol on a weekly basis

Anyone who lives in (polluted) urban areas.

Anyone with allergies

Anyone suffering from moods swing

Anyone who deals with uncontrolled anger

Anyone having problems sleeping

Anyone who wants to age gracefully and stay young in the spirit.

Our detailed liver cleanse seminar offers a simple, step-by-step process for removing toxins, encrusted colonic materials, and gall bladder stones. These materials accumulate in the body as a result of unhealthy eating habits and/or the consumption of alcohol and prescription or non-prescription drugs. After the leaver cleanse that is done at home and takes a day and a half you will feel full of energy, light and radiant. Join shakti for this informational seminar and learn the tools to perform this cleanse on your own again and again, whenever your body needs it. (NO IT’S NOT A FAST)

It is surprisingly simple and modified for the busy people who care about their health.

Each participant will have his/her own private room as required in traditional silence retreats.

Every day will start with gentle yoga class, lead by Shakti, to ease the meditation sitting.

Instead of sitting long intense hours, dealing with physical pain, sessions of one hour sitting meditation will be spread throughout the day while in between the participants will either choose to stay in their rooms or will have the option to go for silent walks in magnificent enchanting forests.

Some of the daily meditation sessions will be supported by live Shakuhachi (Japanese Zen flute) music played by Pepe Danza. The Shakuhachi sound aids with concentration and connects the participants with his/her inner silence

Every evening Shakti and Pepe will devote time to answer questions that will be given to them by the participants in writing.

The retreat is available to all levels of participants. In the beginning of the retreat Shakti and Pepe will teach in detail the custom of Zazen meditation.

The retreat set up is very cozy with fire places in each cabin, and the available land for walks is vast and magnificent, so each participant can have full privacy of quite time and space for self-contemplation.

Every day will end with a Healing Sound session offered by Pepe Danza. Participants will be treated to a deep relaxation practice to the sound of Crystal Bowls, Tibetan Bowls and Bells, Shamanic Drumming and Mantra Chanting.

Zazen- means seated meditation

Kinhin-Walking meditation

The meditation sessions consist of two half hour sitting meditations and a walking meditation (kinhin) in between.Schedule:

Bodega is located on Galiano Island and is nestled on 22 acres of pristine coastal country ideal for year-round recreation – situated at the base of the famous Bodega Ridge, with magnificent views of Trincomali channel, the surrounding Gulf Islands and the Vancouver Island mountains.

On June 17, 2011, a bill signed into law by Governor Rick Perry has effectively ended the battle in the favor of yogis and their supporters who did not want the State of Texas to regulate yoga teacher training. The bill, which takes effect September 1, reads:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 132.001, Education Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (15) to read as follows: (15) “Postsecondary program” means a program that requires a student to have a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate, or requires that the person be beyond the age of compulsory education. A program of instruction in yoga or that trains persons to teach yoga is not considered a postsecondary program.

Without going into too much detail here, this means that the Texas Workforce Commission will no longer have any jurisdiction to regulate yoga teacher trainings or (while never an issue in the past) yoga classes. This victory was made possible by the myriad people who dedicated their time, effort and money to this cause.

Without this coming together of the yoga community, we would not have had this level of success in this short of time. While I know not everyone supported or agreed with this initiative, I do think it benefits everyone nevertheless as the Texas Workforce Commission’s burdensome and unenlightened requirements were not designed or likely to improve or maintain the quality of yoga teacher trainings or increase the accessability of yoga to all. That noble pursuit will be an effort that will require more thought and more community input over time, and really that time is now.

Prana Yoga Teacher College is lovingly run by Shakti Mhi and Pepe Danza. Together with their highly skilled staff and teachers, Prana College has trained hundreds of yoga leaders around the globe. The teaching is transformational, experiential and deeply profound. The trainings are far more than just learning about the postures — which is why it is open to people with a variety of yoga experiences.

The college is especially relevant if you are looking to :

learn how to teach with confidence and precision

take your practice to the next level and go beyond the physical

fully integrate asana (poses) with meditation

immerse yourself in a retreat of like-minded people

cleanse your body, discipline your mind, and awaken your spirit.

About Shakti Mhi and Pepe Danza
Shakti and Pepe deliver their teaching with a very harmonized Shiva/Shakti energy. Their male/female flow brings balance and diversity to their students’ experience. Shakti and Pepe are blissfully married to each other and together they are also married to their Path and to Teaching. To this end they run and manage Prana Yoga College and have manifested a beautiful sanctuary in Vancouver called “The Center for Blissful Living,” a home for the College students and teachers.
They are as passionate towards each other as they are passionate about sharing the joy and creativity experienced through their spiritual practice. They see all their students as an extended family where its members support and get support from each other. Their approach is that life should be celebrated and not “celibated.”

Have a free 42 minute private yoga class with Shakti Mhi and Pepe Danza. Blissful meditative flow for all. Elevate your yoga practice to be a spiritual one and not just physical. Remember, pain is not part of yoga so celebrate!

As PCTIA is a bureaucratic body, all their energy goes into creating more and more bureaucracy so there is a reason for their existence.

For example: PCTIA has created so many complicated rules and regulations that often their own employees don’t understand or follow. PCTIA had to organize workshops to help career training companies understand how to fill out the endless forms and stay compliant. Then they made these workshops obligatory to attend and charge $100.00 for the first staff person and $50 for every additional person.

So, not only does the small business have to send a poor staff member for a whole day of a boring information that doesn’t make sense, the small business still needs to pay the staff member for a day of work day while the employee is not at work and on top of that they need to pay PCTIA $100.

Throughout each year there are many forms, reports and other non-sense that keep coming from PCTIA that often small businesses, that don’t have huge staff, need to hire someone specially to handle PCTIA’s useless demands. This is a huge burden on a small business in terms of employment money and time. (Not to mention how boring it all is as it is just grinding water so PCTIA can keep generating income for their salaries.)

Do they investigate for quality to ensure students are receiving what they paid for? They cannot do this as they have no clue about yoga. This is why Yoga Alliance exists, they are the ones that ensure schools that are certified by them provide the quality and content students need to receive in the yoga programs.

People are under the impression that PCTIA exists to protect students. This is a false impression. PCTIA cares only about the money they make from the fees charged to the small businesses.

For example:

If a school wants to expand their programs and add new or more courses, or add more hours they need to pay:

School has to register every program they plan to offer or that they are offering. Application for registered schools is $250.00 per program.

Registered schools have to pay 100.00 if they want to make a change to the program, it is a change of more than 15%. So, if you want to add more hours to your program, let’s say from 60 hours to 80 hours you have to pay $100.00

The above fees keep accumulating as schools keep expanding their programs as they should. These “penalty fees” for improvement can discourage schools from improving their courses for the benefits of the students or if they do improve their courses, they must increase tuition. On the contrary, if PCTIA was really caring for students they would offer bonuses to schools that add and improve their programs and not add to the schools’ financial burden.

PCTIA declares that they exist to protect students from school bankruptcies and this is why they charge schools for every student that is registered.

We have heard that PCTIA is allowing schools that are in a very poor financial situation to remain open (not yoga ones, but other registered schools). By PCTIA’s own standards some of these schools should be closed down.

PCTIA keeps these schools open so the income they receive from these schools won’t stop. They do it even though it represents a risk to the students.

This is what happens when a government agency does not get any budget from the government and lives on the businesses they regulate. This is a conflict of interest.

Another example:

People think that if a school goes bankrupt, PCTIA will give the students their tuition back. But this is not the case. Most of the students don’t even know about the existence of PCTIA or the Student Training Completion Fund and the procedures that students need to undergo to try to get their money back. PCTIA does not go after the students to make sure they receive their money back. The onus is on the student to go to PCTIA and starts the process. But in the meantime PCTIA charges schools for every student they register.

Late fee – If the school is ever late with the payments, the fee is $500.00.

This is a robbery!!!

Not long ago I was going through the usual accreditation auditing.

I had to pay the below fees:

When the school goes through the accreditation review, PCTIA forms a team that comes and visits the schools. For each member of the team, the school has to pay $1,200.00 for the first day and $350.00 for any additional day per person plus lunch!!! Members of an Accreditation Team typically include at least three people: Team Leader, PCTIA Representative and Subject Matter Specialists as required.

I had to pay $1,200 per person a day!!!! Plus lunch! How dare they demand I buy them lunch while charging $1,200 a day per person? The team members didn’t even move from their chair, and all they did was flip through a huge binder of bylaws, going from section to section as if they are dealing with the creation of the universe. What a waste of money! $1,200 is the same amount of money Prana college gives to students as a grant for those that cannot afford to pay for courses.

In addition, PCTIA’s communication with small business is based on intimidation, fear, and threats. This is how the system intimated the people and this is why often the people are afraid to question the system.

More of PCTIA’s fees are available below.

Thanks Shakti Mhi

i)

Registration application fee (When the school registers for the first time, if it has only one location – main location – the fee is $2,000.00. If there is more than one location, fee for each of those locations is $1,000.00)

Main campus

2,000.00

Branch campus

1,000.00

ii) Initial contribution to the Student Training Completion Fund (This fund is supposed to serve students if ever the institution gets closed)

2,000.00

ii)

Accreditation application fee (If the school wants to become accredited, there is again a fee that needs to be paid $2,000.00 for the main location. If the school has more than one location, the school needs to pay $1,000.00 for each of those)

Main campus

2,500.00

Branch campus

1,000.00

iii)

Registration workshop fee (PCTIA organizes workshops to help people understand how to fill out the forms and stay compliant. It is obligatory to attend the workshops. If only one school representative is coming to the workshops it is $100.00. For every additional person it is $50.00)

Institution’s initial participant

100.00

Each additional participant from institution in same workshop

50.00

iv)

Accreditation workshop fee (If the school wants to get Accredited, they MUST attend accreditation workshop. One representative pays $100.00 every additional one pays $50.00)

Institution’s initial participant

100.00

Each additional participant from institution in same workshop

50.00

v)

New registered career program application fee – School has to register every program they plan to offer or that they are offering. Application for registered schools is $250.00 per program.

vi)

New accredited career program application fee – If the school wants to offer new program and the school is accredited the fee is $500.00

vii)

Substantive registered career program modification fee – Registered schools have to pay 100.00 if they want to make a change to the program, it is a change of more than 15%. So, if you want to add more hours to your program, let’s say from 60 hours to 80 hours you have to pay $100.00

viii)

Substantive accredited career program modification fee – Accredited schools have to pay 200.00 if they want to make a change to the program, it is a change of more than 15%. So, if you want to add more hours to your program, let’s say from 60 hours to 80 hours you have to pay $200.00

ix)

New registered short?duration program application fee – Even if the school is offering programs that are shorter than 40 hours in duration and less than $1000 in tuition, the school has to register those programs. So, if someone is offering a workshop, they have to register those workshops as short-duration programs. Each application is $100,00

x)

New accredited short?duration program application fee – If the school is accredited and offers workshops, all of the workshops have to be registered, regardless of the duration or the tuition amount. The price for that is $200.00 per program

xi)

Application for a change of location of a main or branch campus – If the school decides to move the fee is $500.00

xii)

Application for a change of name – If the school wants to change its name, whether operating or legal, the fee is $250.00

xiii)

Application for a change of ownership – If the owner of the school is changed, even if only one of the partners leave and the other remains, the fee is $1,000.00

xiv)

Initial fee for 5-Year Review of Accreditation – Every 5 years, accredited institutions have to submit a report to PCTIA. The fee that accompanies the report is $1,000.00

xv)

Late fee – If the school is ever late with the payments, the fee is $500.00

xvi)

When the school goes through the accreditation review, PCTIA forms a team that comes and visits the schools. For each member of the team, the school has to pay $1,200.00 for the first day and $350.00 for any additional day per person plus lunch!!! Members of an Accreditation Team typically include at least three people: Team Leader, PCTIA Representative and Subject Matter Specialists as required.

Monthly fees to PCTIA and the STCF:

1. Fixed Annual Fee

Fixed annual fees are based on an institution’s previous fiscal year’s total tuition revenue received. Institutions will pay one-twelfth (1/12) of the fixed annual fee to PCTIA each month.

INSTITUTION REVENUE RECEIVED FIXED ANNUAL FEE

Over $10,000,000 ……………………………….$15,300.00

$7,500,000 to $10,000,000…………………….$13,200.00

$5,000,000 to $ 7,499,999……………………..$11,100.00

$2,500,000 to $ 4,999,999……………………..$9,000.00

$1,000,000 to $ 2,499,999……………………..$6,900.00

$ 700,000 to $ 999,999…………………………$4,800.00

$ 350,000 to $ 699,999…………………………$3,600.00

$ 100,000 to $ 349,999…………………………$2,400.00

$ 50,000 to $ 99,999……………………………$1,800.00

$ 25,000 to $ 49,999……………………………$1,200.00*

Under $ 25,000…………………………………..$ 600.00

* Minimum fixed annual fee for a newly registered institution. Annual adjustments of the fixed annual fee will be made 8 months following the end of an institution’s fiscal year and will remain in effect for a 12-month period.

2) PCTIA % of tuition fee

PCTIA % of tuition fee is a percentage rate applied to an institution’s tuition revenue received in the previous month. The percentage rate structure is established by the Board annually.

3) STCF % of tuition contribution

STCF % of tuition contribution is a percentage rate applied to an institution’s tuition revenue received in the previous month. The percentage rate structure is set out in the PCTIA Regulations.

The PCTIA and STCF percentage rates are as follows:

Percentage RateDescription

PCTIA Rate*

STCF Rate

1.

Probationary:- Institutions that have been registered less than 2 years- Registered or accredited institutions not in “good standing”**- Registered institutions whose accreditation has been cancelled by PCTIA in the previous 2 years

It is time for us to unite and stop the government from regulating yoga and spiritual teachings.

As yoga blossoms and gains popularity, bringing wellness for the community, the government (in this specific case in a form of a body called PCTIA) gets greedier and keeps milking yoga schools and teachers financially via bylaws, regulations and endless fines. As a result the small centers and schools are being pushed out of operation or forced to increase teaching tuitions. As PCTIA gets its power from the government BUT NOT a budget or any financial support, the more money they get from the yoga community the greater their offices and salaries become (which is an obvious conflict interest).

No spiritual practice should be regulated by government bodies that have no clue about spirituality. Since the ancient times spiritual teachers with different approaches, different teaching content and methods, have been available for the different students to choose from. Regulating yoga via endless fees will turn yoga in BC to be purely corporate and will stop individual teachers from offering their genuine teaching because they don’t have the financial means to remain in the “System.” This will be a disaster for the spiritual path and will cause yoga to be available only for the wealthy.

The same issue was raised in the US and the yogis successfully achieved the removal of government regulations from yoga schools.

Now it is our turn to stand for our right to practice yoga with no government involvement. We have the power, the right, and the urgency to unite, and with peaceful but firm means, stop the government from interfering with our spiritual practices.

Yoga schools are already regulated by the Yoga Alliance, an entity that successfully and objectively monitors the quality of Yoga teachers and schools without financial interest or hidden agendas.

Please sign our petition and take the time to share it with others. More actions are being planned regarding this matter and we will keep you updated.